Henrik Lundqvist
| birth_place = Åre, Sweden | career_start = 2001 | draft = 205th overall | draft_year = 2000 | draft_team = New York Rangers }} Henrik Lundqvist (born on March 2, 1982) is a Swedish professional ice hockey goaltender for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Before winning the Vezina Trophy in 2012, Henrik was nominated in each of his first three seasons, and is the only goaltender in NHL history to record 30 wins in each of his first seven seasons. His dominating play during his rookie season resulted in the New York media and Rangers fans giving him the nickname "King Henrik." During the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy, he led the Swedish men's team to their second Olympic gold medal. Before joining the Rangers, Henrik played for Frölunda HC in the Swedish Elitserien. During Henrik's years in Sweden, he developed into the league's finest goaltender, winning the Honken Trophy three consecutive seasons; 2003, 2004 and 2005. In 2005, he also won two of the most prestigious awards in Swedish ice hockey, the Golden Puck and the Golden Helmet. Henrik is considered a butterfly style goalie, though unorthodox because of the aggressive way he performs the butterfly. He is best known for his sensational quickness, athleticism and strong positional play. Playing Career Early Playing Career Henrik and his twin brother Joel joined local team Rögle BK. They were both selected for Scania's regional team in Sverigepucken in 1995. Henrik was selected to play for Scania in TV-pucken in 1996. Joel was selected in 1997. During the 1997–98 season, Henrik and Joel were extensively scouted by Frölunda. While playing for Rögle in the 1998 Scandinavium Cup in Gothenburg, Frölunda's junior team manager and U16 coach Janne Karlsson contacted their father, who told Henrik & Joel about Frölunda's interest in them while driving home to Båstad. Frolunda (2000-2005) After having a successful pre-season, Henrik made his Elitserien debut in the season opener on 21 September 2000 in a 2–4 loss against Brynäs IF. He bounced back and recorded his first win in the following away game against IF Björklöven, stopping 18 shots and only allowing one goal while being short handed. In his third straight start, Henrik allowed two early first period goals in a game against Timrå IK and was pulled in favor of veteran keeper Håkan Algotsson. Lundqvist would dress for only ten more games this season and got only one start in a shootout loss to Djurgårdens IF. Henrik lost his roster spot to American veteran keeper Pat Jablonski, who joined the team in October. Tommy Boustedt (the coach of the team at the time) later said that: “''Malfeasance, I think in hindsight, that he didn't get to start in more games that season. He showed then that he was that good. He should have played more, no doubt about it''.” Henrik played in nine games for IF Mölndal Hockey in the Swedish second tier Allsvenskan, before joining Frölunda's junior team in the J20 SuperElit in December. After his poor play in Allsvenskan and a tough start in the J20 SuperElit, Henrik allowed six goals in an exhibition game against Canada. National junior team coaches Bo "Kulon" Lennartsson and Mikael Tisell were worried and decided to have a talk with Henrik where they questioned his motivation. Henrik's turning point came at the turn of the year at the 2001 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in Moscow, Russia, where he led the Swedish national junior's team to a fourth place finish in the tournament. He spent the rest of the season in the J20 SuperElit where he played 18 games, leading the league in minutes played by a goaltender. In the playoffs, he led Frölunda to their second straight Anton Cup win which came in a 5–2 win over Leksands IF in the final at the Stockholm Globe Arena. In December of 2004, "The Hockey News" rated Henrik the sixth best European prospect, and he was the lone goaltender in their European top 10 list. Also in December, he joined fellow Rangers prospect Al Montoya on McKeen's list of top goaltending prospects, where he was ranked seventh amongst the group. During the 2005 season, Henrik broke four Swedish national records: lowest goals against average (1.05), highest save percentage (.962), longest goalless streak (172 min 29 sec) and the most shutouts in a season (6). He was also named Best Goaltender, Best Player, and he was selected as the league's MVP by fellow players. In his 180 appearances with Frölunda, Henrik amassed a 1.96 goals against average and a .927 save percentage, leading them to four consecutive playoff appearances and winning two titles in 2003 and 2005. New York Rangers (2005-current) At the beginning of Henrik's rookie season in 2005–06, with starting goaltender Kevin Weekes injured, he made his NHL debut on October 8, 2005 against the New Jersey Devils, stopping 24 of 27 shots in a 3-2 overtime loss. A few days later on October 13, 2005, Henrik posted his first career NHL win against the Devils. His first career shutout came on October 17, 2005 against the Florida Panthers and with it, he became the first rookie goaltender to record a shutout for the Rangers since John Vanbiesbrouck on January 2, 1985. During the season Henrik also became the first Rangers rookie to post 20 wins in a season since Mike Richter recorded 21 in 1990–91. Finishing the season with 30 wins, Henrik broke the Rangers rookie goaltending record of 29 wins, previously held by Jim Henry (1941–42) and Johnny Bower (1953–54). He was among the league leaders in several categories: fifth in goals against average (2.24), fourth in save percentage (.922), 11th in wins (30), and tied for 16th in shutouts with two. Henrik's regular season success did not continue in the playoffs, where he appeared in three playoff games, posted a 0–3 record, a 4.40 goals against average and an .835 save percentage in a series loss to the Devils. Henrik was a finalist for the Vezina Trophy, awarded annually to the NHL's best goaltender, but he was not a finalist for the Calder Trophy (which is awarded to the rookie of the year) because of a high quality crop of first-year players. Henrik was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team, along with Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin, Brad Boyes, Dion Phaneuf and Andrej Meszaros. He won the 2005–06 MetLife/Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award (which is a New York Rangers team award). By the second month of Henrik's second season, he had already made a name for himself among the hockey world, his fellow players and the Ranger fans. Because of his spectacular athletic ability and work ethic, he earned the nickname, "The King." ("King Henrik" is the other alternative). During home games at Madison Square Garden after Henrik would make a big save(s), fans often chant "Hen-Rik!, Hen-Rik!, Hen-Rik!", sometimes to the rhythm of two drum beats played over the arena's PA system. On December 14, 2006 (in a game against the Dallas Stars), Henrik became the first NHL goaltender to face his twin brother. He and his brother are only the third set of twins to play each other in an NHL game. The game was won by Lundqvist and the Rangers. In the Rangers' 7-0 win in game three of the 2007 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals over the Atlanta Thrashers, Henrik became the first Rangers goalie since Mike Richter in 1997 to post a playoff shutout. The win was also the Rangers' first home playoff win since Richter's shutout. For the second consecutive year, Henrik was a finalist being considered for the Vezina Trophy. Because Henrik was tied with Miikka Kiprusoff for third place in balloting, there were four finalists for an NHL individual trophy for the first time in league history. During the off-season, he re-signed to a one-year, US$4.25 million contract with the Rangers. On February 13, 2008, Henrik signed a six-year contract with the Rangers worth $41.25 million, averaging $6.875 million a season which made him the highest paid goaltender in the NHL on average over the length of his contract. On February 24, 2008, he became the first Rangers goaltender to record eight shutouts in a single season since Eddie Giacomin in 1970–71. On March 6, 2008, Henrik recorded his 30th win of the season, making him just the second goaltender (along with Ron Hextall) to record at least 30 wins in each of his first three NHL seasons. On March 9, 2008, he became the first Rangers goaltender to record 9 shutouts in a season since Eddie Giacomin's 1966–67 season in a 1-0 win against the Boston Bruins. He was named the Rangers Most Valuable Player for the fifth consecutive season (2006–07 and 2010–11) as voted by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association. He becomes the first Rangers player to earn the Rangers MVP award five consecutive times. On October 1, 2008, Henrik and the New York Rangers won the Victoria Cup by beating Metallurg Magnitogorsk in the Championship game with the score of 4-3. On October 8, 2009, he was selected to play in the 2009 NHL All-Star Game in Montreal. On January 24, 2009, Henrik made his first All-Star appearance in the Elimination Shootout. He stopped 12 of 16 shots in the shootout and Shane Doan won the competition. The next day, he played in the second period of the All-Star game, in which he gave up six goals. On March 12, 2009, Henrik became the first NHL goalie to win at least 30 games in his first four seasons with a win over the Nashville Predators. In September of 2009, despite having played only four seasons with the club, he was ranked No. 90 on the all-time list of New York Rangers in the book 100 Ranger Greats (John Wiley & Sons, 2009). On March 25, 2010, Henrik became the first NHL goalie to win at least 30 games in his first five seasons by beating the New Jersey Devils in a shootout. In January 2011, Henrik and his teammate Marc Staal were named All-Stars for the 2011 NHL All-Star Game in Raleigh, North Carolina. Both players were drafted by Marc Staal's brother Eric, who was one of the captains for the event. On January 30, 2011, he played in the third period of the All Star game, stopping 11 of 14 shots. This was his second All-Star appearance. Henrik also became the first goaltender to face and stop penalty shot in the 57-year history of the NHL All-Star Game. The penalty shot was attempted by Matt Duchene. On February 17, 2011, he earned his 200th NHL win in a 4-3 shootout victory over the Los Angeles Kings at Madison Square Garden. On March 19, 2011, Henrik became the first NHL goalie to win at least 30 games in his first six seasons in a 6-3 win over Montreal at Madison Square Garden On January 24, 2012, he earned his 40th career shutout, beating the Winnipeg Jets 3-0 at Madison Square Garden. On February 14, 2012 (after making 42 saves in a 3-0 shutout victory over the Boston Bruins), Rangers fans began using the term "Lundsanity" in association with Henrik. Around this time, the term "Linsanity" was being used to describe basketball player Jeremy Lin's meteoric rise to fame with the NBA's New York Knicks (who like the Rangers, also play at Madison Square Garden). On February 27, 2012, Henrik extended his own record as he became the first NHL goalie to win at least 30 games in his first seven seasons in a 2-0 shutout win over the New Jersey Devils at Madison Square Garden. On June 20, 2012, he won the Vezina trophy at the 2012 NHL Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada. On November 24, 2012, he participated in "Operation Hat Trick" which was a charity hockey game held at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City to raise money for Hurricane Sandy victims. On March 3, 2013, Henrik took the NHL all-time lead in shootout wins over Martin Brodeur, winning his 43rd against the Buffalo Sabres. On April 3, 2013, he won his 268th game, surpassing Eddie Giacomin for the second most wins in Rangers history behind only Mike Richter. On May 13 and May 14, 2013, Henrik recorded back to back playoff shutouts against the Washington Capitals. He and the Rangers would be eliminated by the eventual Eastern Conference champion Boston Bruins in five games. On December 4, 2013, Henrik signed a seven-year, $53 million contract extension with the Rangers, making him the highest-paid goaltender in the National Hockey League. Career Statistics Post Season Statistics Awards & Achievements Elitserien *Junior Hockey Player of the Year (2002) *Honken Trophy (2003, 2004 and 2005) *Guldhjälmen (2005) *Guldpucken (2005) NHL/New York Rangers *Vezina Trophy (2012) *NHL First All-Star Team (2012) *All-Star Game (2009, 2011 and 2012) *John Halligan Good Guy Award (2008) *Victoria Cup (New York Rangers) (2008) *New York Rangers' MVP (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013) *Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award (2006) *All-Rookie Team (2006) NHL Nominations *Vezina Trophy (2006, 2007, 2008, 2012 and 2013) *Hart Memorial Trophy (2012) *Ted Lindsay Award (2012) International *WC Best Goaltender (2004) *WC All-Star Team (2004) Records Elitserien *Goals against average (1.45) and save percentage (.948) of 2002–03 *Goals against average (1.79) and save percentage (.936) of 2004–05 New York Rangers/NHL *Only goaltender in NHL history to record 30 wins in each of first seven seasons. *Most shutouts by a goaltender in Madison Square Garden. *New York Rangers club record, games played, single season: 73 (2009–10). *The Rangers all-time leader in shutouts (regular-season and playoffs combined). Olympics *Winter Olympics record for consecutive minutes without allowing a goal: 172 minutes and 34 seconds (2006 to 2010). International Play }} }} Henrik is the all time leader among goaltenders (and eleventh overall of all players) in games played for the Swedish national junior's ice hockey team. At the 2001 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in Moscow, Russia, he led the Sweden men's national junior ice hockey team to a fourth place finish in the tournament. After an upset 3–2 win over the hosting nation Russia in the quarterfinals, Sweden lost 0–1 against Czech Republic in the semifinals, and 1–2 in over time against Canada in the bronze medal game. On November 10, 2002, he made his debut for Sweden men's national ice hockey team during the 2002 Karjala Tournament in Helsinki, Finland. Henrik was selected to the 2003 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships but was third string goaltender behind Tommy Salo and Mikael Tellqvist. The following year at the 2004 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships, he was the starting goaltender and he was selected to the tournament all star team. Henrik and Jörgen Jönsson were the only two Elitserien players selected to play for Sweden at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. Lacking experience on the smaller ice surface Lundqvist was again third string behind Salo and Tellqvist. In the Euro Hockey Tour during the 2004–05 season, Henrik was named best goaltender in Karjala Tournament and Sweden Hockey Games by the directorate and also to the media all star team in both tournaments. At the 2005 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships in Vienna and Innsbruck, Austria, he played in all nine games during the tournament where Sweden lost the bronze medal game against Russia. Henrik's most memorable international performance came at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, where he led Sweden to the gold medal over their arch rival, Finland. In six Olympic starts, he went 5–1, allowing only 12 goals with a .907 save percentage. Inline Hockey Henrik led team Sweden with spectacular goaltending to their first ever medal in inline hockey when they won Gold at the 2002 IIHF Inline Hockey World Championships. Personal Life Henrik grew up with his identical twin brother Joel in Åre, Jämtland (an area where alpine skiing is the most popular winter activity) but they chose to play ice hockey over the more popular winter sports. During the winters their kindergarten teachers used the kindergarten's 9 meters × 3 meters (30 ft × 10 ft) sandpit to freeze an outdoor ice rink where the twins would frequently skate. The boys' interest in hockey grew even larger when their father Peter took the twins to see Västra Frölunda HC play in Scandinavium, Gothenburg. Henrik has said that he and Joel were very competitive growing up, in sports as well as school. Peter worked for a company who sponsored Frölunda & the twins saw many games in Scandinavium and Frölunda became their favorite team. In 1990, Henrik and Joel joined Järpens IF and started playing organized hockey for the first time. During one practice when the coach asked if anyone wanted to be a goaltender Joel grabbed and raised Henrik's arm and said that his brother would like to. In 1993, Henrik's family moved to Båstad, Scania (in southern Sweden) to support his older sister Gabriella's tennis career. In 2009, Henrik became the Rangers spokesman for the Garden of Dreams Foundation, which works mostly with Madison Square Garden and its tenants to host charitable events and grant wishes to sick children (similar to the Make-a-Wish Foundation). In this role, Henrik will host the events and record public service messages. In order to benefit the charity, he launched a clothing line, called the Crown Collection on January 19, 2012. The items of the Crown Collection are available exclusively at retail outlets within the confines of Madison Square Garden. In 2004, Henrik was awarded Best Dressed in Sweden. In April of 2006, he was named one of People's "World's 100 Most Beautiful People." In December of 2008, he was named one of "Page Six Magazine"'s Top 25 Best Dressed in 2008. In 2007 a video appeared on the website YouTube with a drunk man impersonating Lundqvist. Two major Swedish tabloids, Aftonbladet and Expressen, wrote about the event. Aftonbladet later released a statement from a man claiming to have been the impersonator in the clip. Henrik used to play guitar in a Swedish rock band called Box Play. He also has a restaurant called Tiny's located in TriBeCa. He has worked on this project with former Rangers teammate Sean Avery (who owns his own restaurant in New York City called Warren 77) and some other business partners. Henrik has been married to Therese Andersson since the summer of 2011. On July 10, 2012, they welcomed a daughter named Charlise in New York City. On July 10, 2013, he hosted the two-hour talk show "Sommar" on Swedish public radio. Category:New York Rangers players Category:Sweden players Category:Goaltenders Category:Swedish ice hockey players